GROZNY, Russia -- Russian jets bombed roads and mountain passes in an effort to cut off Chechen rebels' retreat routes, and a top Russian commander said Tuesday the military would rely on artillery attacks rather than storming the towns held by militants.
"This is not a classical war but a counterterrorist operation," said Maj. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov. "There will be no stormings. The troops have used and will be using the tactics of wearing down the rebels' resistance with artillery."We are in no hurry."
Shamanov was leading Russian troops eastward to the town of Achkhoi-Martan, 15 miles southwest of the capital, Grozny, in an attempt to consolidate Russian control over the northwestern part of the breakaway republic.
He told reporters that Russian forces were counting on negotiations with elders in the town, "so they can drive the rebels out of their villages themselves."
Meanwhile, Russian fighter jets and helicopter gunships continued to pound Chechen settlements and roads, flying a total of 80 attack and reconnaissance missions on Monday, the Interfax news agency reported. The military said that an ammunition depot, two anti-aircraft installations, a command post and eight rebel bases were among the targets destroyed.
Jets hurled bombs on the main highway and mountain passes leading from Grozny south to Georgia, trying to cut off escape routes for the militants.
There was no word on casualties.
Russian soldiers were conducting mop-up operations Tuesday in northern Chechnya, searching for rebels and arms caches. The region has been under control of Russian troops for several weeks already.
Russian military officials claimed they had brought a semblance of normal life to the north of the breakaway republic.
Military spokesman Alexei Vasin said that engineers had restored a railway running from Chechnya's second-largest city, Gudermes, which the Russians captured last week, to Khasavyurt in the neighboring Russian region of Dagestan. The first train was expected to travel the route Tuesday, he said.
Nevertheless, international criticism of Russia's military campaign is growing.
The World Council of Churches today sent a letter to Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II to condemn "the disproportionate and irresponsible use of force employed by the Russian military forces, which is contributing to a humanitarian crisis of the utmost seriousness."
The council encompasses more than 300 Protestant and Orthodox religious bodies worldwide.
Eyewitnesses have reported massive casualties, and Chechen officials have said that more than 4,000 civilians have been killed since Russia launched its offensive in September.
However, the chief of the Russian air force angrily denied the reports.
In an interview published today in the Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily, Col. Gen. Anatoly Kornukov, commander in chief of the air forces, called such reports "a bluff and an attempt to discredit the troops."
Russia launched strikes on Chechnya in September after militants based in the republic twice attacked neighboring Dagestan. The militants are also blamed in apartment bombings that killed 300 people in Russia in September.